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Ha! What bollocks.
I haven't had a spare second, nor, to be honest, the inclination to give a shit about 'sound evidence' in the five months now since Fletch was born. It's been a whirlwind of feeding, sleeping, crying, laughing, nappies, playing and just getting through the bloody day.
But there is one, let's call it, 'accidental parenting strategy', that I've realised I am guilty of. Plonking Fletch in front of the old TV has become a little go-to resource for me when I need a time out. Or if I need the toilet. Or a glass of water. Or if Fletch just needs to calm the fuck down. As annoying as Mister Maker is, he has now become my ally. And he, the Teletubbies and Charlie & Lola never fail to come through with the goods.
Problem is, I'm not sure how much is too much. I've done some in-depth research (*cough* Google) and apparently there is some evidence out there that says too much TV before 6 months lowers language and visual motor skills at age 3. But, when the results were adjusted for household income and education levels, the effect disappeared. So, it sounds like no one really knows the effect of TV on young babies.
I can't believe that 5 or 10 or let's go wild, 15 minutes here and there is going to matter. I certainly know my brother and sister and I watched a fair bit of TV growing up and look how we turned out! OK, maybe not such a good example. But surely it's not that big a deal, right? What I do know is that Fletch's TV watching doesn't replace anything. He plays with his toys, goos and gahs out the windows at the boats and the cars, is out walking with me, swimming in the pool, at our weekly baby class, or playing with his baby friends the rest of the time. We read books, we sing, we play, we tickle, we laugh. The TV's certainly not a big part of his life, but it's there. And I can't see it going away anytime soon.
So in the spirit of continuing my robust research, I'm interested to know what you think on the matter!
Do you let your kids watch TV?
Do you limit the time per day?
Do you think it's detrimental to their development?
Or are you all for it?
12 comments:
haha, the moment your grand dreams are replaced by reality.
I do let Che watch tv but I am well aware of the way it affects his behaviour. And it's not good. He becomes angry and lethargic and completely lazy.
We try to restrict tv to the weekends but he's had a bit of a cold of late so the weekend rule has gone out the window.
And I don't think it's just tv these days is it - it's ipads and iphones - hence the 'screen' time. To do without screen time completely is near impossible but I do know some people who do it. I for one, don't think it's such a bad thing, in moderation.
I am in a whir of editorial deadlines B - apologies if this made no sense whatsoever. I've completely rambled! x
Yes, screen time... Lauris (now 2) becomes whiny, hyper and unmanageable after playing with the Ipad. So he only gets it when I really need the time - doctor's office, restaurants, etc. Mikus (5 months) will just gawk when there is a tv in range, but as he's relatively good with playing alone, I don't really know the effects, because he's seen so little. That being said, I believe everything is about moderation. Glad to hear your not mad at yourself over a little tele-time.
i think educational shows like playschool and some other abc shows are good for kids. maybe not much tv time for babies though, but i'm sure 10 minutes here and there will do no harm.
x
I was SO strick with Zeph- he had never watched t.v until he was 18 months old and I was pregnant with Olive. Oh the guilt I felt for letting him watch 20 minutes of PLAYSCHOOL (idiot).
Olive on the other hand has watched t.v whenever its been on for zeph. Out of my two kids- it's safe to say that Olive os by FAR the more relaxed, contented child. Zeph is a hyper dude- and he didn't lay his eyes on a screen until 18 months!
My conclusion- it does nothing if all other bases are cover. You talk to him, play with him, feed him, cuddle him, love him. BAM best mother in the world.
xo em
you've gotta survive B. xx
Thanks for this post Bridget - it's one of the things I stress about / have mother guilt over more than anything.
Like Em, I was quite strict with Oliver in the first year or so and didn't even allow the TV on when I was breastfeeding! Now he watches TV daily at various points - and more so since #2 came along.
Our TV times tend to be: morning so I can have a shower (otherwise he comes upstairs and wakes L when she's napping!), sometimes lunchtime if he's getting tired & hyper but refuses to sleep (it sends him to sleep in minutes!) and also in the evenings when I'm putting Lila to bed (if hubby's not around).
Too much? Yes possibly, but it works for us and makes my life that little bit easier.
Like Emily I also agree that as long as your child is also being given lots of other love and stimulation each day, then surely it can't do to much damage!
Good on you for going with the flow
xx
Everyone else seems to have hang ups about TV and how much is too much for little children, I never worried too much, and it's helped me along the way too. And you are not going to leave him in front of the TV all day long, like you said it's just for a little while 15 minutes here and there, amongst all his other activities. Nothing wrong with that. A bit of TV in my experience has never harmed anyone, on the contrary there are some educational shows for little ones (even babies) that are just great and are only going to help us parents take a breath after a very busy day with our little ones (and they need a break from us too!) I think that the real problems start when (our) children grow up and start playing xbox or playstation, FBooking and so on, then you really need to start limiting their time on computers and TVs (again from personal experience). Until then a bit of TV under parental supervision is going to be just fine! Cx
Ah, the things we have in our heads about how we will raise our children, what we will and won't allow them to do... when in reality it's not as straight forward as we think it will be.
In saying that, Angus (now 4.5) wasn't allowed to watch Tv as a babe, then by the time he turned 2, he wasn't interested in it. By this point I WANTED him to be interested, as I was pregnant with Felix and needed the old digital babysitter to help me out here and there. He only started getting into it more at 2.5, when Felix was born. Just educational shows, but still would not focus on kid's movies.
I've been quite different with Felix. He's been allowed to choose when he'd like to watch, based on the shows Angus watches. So nowadays, I'd say they're watching about an hour a day on average... but Felix potters in and out of the lounge room, as his concentration is similar to a goldfish at times.
Oh, how I have fallen from those early days with Angus, when I was so ridiculously vigilant.
Fletch will be absolutely fine. You're an awesome Mama and offer him a stack of enriching experiences, a little tele won't hurt a bit.
xo
The fact that you are asking the question means that you care. I think that's all that matters, don't worry too much :)
Jude (2 and a half) loves to watch playschool in the mornings and some afternoons on my laptop while we have a 'cuppa tea' (warm milk) and i have a coffee snuggled in bed. We love it.
Sometimes we'll go without any screen time at all, some weeks it helps us get through a tough or busy week.
Be gentle with yourself :)
Mine didn't watch any at all until he was 2 (partly because that was a recommendation I saw; partly because I never watch TV in the day anyway and it's in a separate room so he never really even knew about it AND partly because he's been a pretty easygoing baby/kid). He's almost 2.5 now and I will put him in front of Playschool so I can have a shower (not every day) and occasionally he gets the iPad - but nearly every time he has any screen time it becomes a drama (doesn't want to stop, or wants it again and again the rest of the day) so I try not to do any at all. So sometimes I wonder if we would have been better off putting him in front of the TV now and again as a baby so he wasn't so obsessive about it now! Anyway it probably all depends on individual personality.
I let him watch however much he wants. Mr FF is really smart and watched a lot and is super sporty to boot and I have an honours degree in law and always watched tv.
The smartest girl I have ever known watched truckloads of telly.
He doesn't watch any at daycare.
Smart kids are smart no matter what.
xxx
I didn't let E (27 months)have any tv at all until she was one and then only Playschool. Gradually introduced Spot and Maisy DVDs and they are still her favourites. She currently gets about half an hour before lunch and half an hour before dinner, mainly so I can actually produce food without her hanging on my leg. I think so long as you are careful about the content and have clear limits about time it's ok.
Cute lovely baby! Beautiful mummy.
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